Ask Jake: How Do I Get Disability for Agent Orange?
Editor’s Note: Kane County is the home to 24,787 veterans, the seventh-largest county by veteran population in the state of Illinois. “Ask Jake” is a monthly series of articles written by Kane County Veterans Assistance Commission Superintendent Jacob A. Zimmerman, designed to help Kane County veterans and their families, in appreciation of their service and sacrifice.
You might have had other veterans tell you that they are service-connected for “Agent Orange.” We have some veterans come in to our office asking to apply for service-connected disability benefits for Agent Orange. The miscommunication is that Agent Orange is not actually a claimable disability, but specific diagnoses related to Agent Orange exposures are. With most disabilities, you can take out disability insurance to ensure that your income is protected in the event that you are no longer able to work due to injury or illness. However, cases involving Agent Orange are slightly more complicated.
How Do I Prove I Was Exposed to Agent Orange in the Military?
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs through laws and regulations presume that you were exposed to Agent Orange or other herbicides if you had “boots on the ground” in Vietnam or served in the “brown waters” of Vietnam during the Vietnam War.
Boots on the ground means that you physically were on land in the Republic of Vietnam for any length of time. Further, veterans who served in the brown waters are those veterans who served on small boats or ships that operated in the inland waterways of Vietnam, which includes the Saigon River and the Mekong Delta but does not include harbors like Da Nang Harbor (unless you were on a ship party that went ashore) or the open ocean.
Veterans who served on Navy or Coast Guard ships that only operated in the offshore waters of Vietnam or in the harbors are called “Blue Water” veterans and are not covered under most of the laws and rules that apply to herbicide exposure — although they do specifically qualify for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Certain veterans who served during certain times on the Korean Demilitarized Zone, or in certain areas at certain air bases in Thailand, or on C-123 aircraft following the Vietnam War also potentially qualify for Agent Orange benefits. Your service in those locations are usually verified on your DD-214 or in your Official Military Personnel File.
What Disabilities Are Related to Herbicide Exposure?
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs presently presumes that 14 health issues are related to herbicide exposure. Veterans who were exposed to herbicides and are diagnosed with any of those conditions are potentially eligible for certain benefits including VA health care benefits and service-connected disability compensation. Those 14 conditions are listed on this public health VS website in their entirety but the conditions our office sees a lot of are Diabetes Type II, Ischemic Heart Disease (which covers multiple different heart conditions), and Prostate Cancer.
What Should I Do If I Was in Vietnam?
First, if you have any one of those 14 conditions related to herbicide exposure, call our office to schedule an appointment to file a claim for VA benefits. If you do not have any of those conditions, I recommend getting an Agent Orange Registry Exam at Edward J. Hines Veterans Hospital. The exam is free to all veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange and can be scheduled by calling 708-202-8387 x27957.
What Should I Do If I Was a ‘Blue Water’ Veteran and the VA Is Not Recognizing Me as Being Exposed to Agent Orange?
I recommend a couple of things. First, get involved with the advocacy organization pushing for benefits to beget extended to Blue Water veterans, the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Association. In addition to that, urge your federal congressman and/or senators to support legislation that would extend benefits to Blue Water veterans. Currently House Resolution 969 and Senate Bill 681, if passed by Congress and signed by President Obama, would extend benefits to certain Blue Water veterans.
So, What’s the Bottom Line?
The bottom line is that if you expect you were exposed in some way to Agent Orange and you have a condition that you think might be exposed to Agent Orange or other herbicides – you should call our office. As you can see, there are a lot of moving parts to these highly technical benefits. Our office stays up-to-date on laws and studies so that we can make sure we are on top of the Agent Orange benefits information. With bills working their way through Congress and studies being released that suggest that more disabilities may be associated with Agent Orange exposure – the safest bet is to call our office so that we can make sure you are getting the benefits you are entitled to.
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About the Kane County Veterans Assistance Commission
The Kane County Veterans Assistance Commission exists to help veterans access the benefits they earned for serving our great nation. Whether you are looking to apply for health care, dental insurance, disability compensation, home loan, GI Bill, or state benefits — the KCVAC office can help! Don’t try to navigate the benefits bureaucracy alone: Veterans Assistance Commission help is free! For more information, visit the Veterans Assistance Commission web page, “Like” the Kane County Veterans Assistance Commission Facebook page and sign up for the Veterans Assistance Commission newsletter.
